When Fire meets Water
by Stygian Hazard
Summary: Hestia has always, always been alone on Valentine's Day. This year, a certain son of Poseidon is going to change that or die trying. Well, hopefully not really die trying; living is always preferable. A Valentine's Day Special. Percy/Hestia. PercyxHestia.


**A/N: I felt like I should put something out there for Valentine's Day. I hope you like it. I haven't posted something in this section before, but I felt like it was time. After all, this series inspired half of my name.**

 **Hestia needs more love, don't you think so? I do. And what better day to give her some love than Valentine's Day?**

 **Also, attention, I have a tumblr blog where I post stuff (ideas and questions and thoughts and more) about this account. So… Follow me? The name is "stygianhazardff"**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. If I did, well, things would have ended a lot differently…**

* * *

Hestia sighed softly to herself as she gazed into the fire pit. Her features glowed ethereally in the moonlight as the campers milled about around her. None of them paid her any mind, as usual. Today, however, it was really understandable why no one paid any attention to her. Today was Valentine's Day, after all. There was no reason for anyone to pay any attention to a virgin goddess on today of all days. Although even if it wasn't Valentine's Day, no one would have noticed her anyways. Hestia's eyes dimmed along with the fire in front of her as she absentmindedly threw some pieces of wood into it. Oddly enough, the fire didn't grow any bigger but seemed to instead shrink bit by bit as more and more pieces of wood fell into it. No one noticed this however; for everyone else was too busy with their significant others or their close friends.

The campers all slowly but surely flowed out of the mess hall. Some walked over towards the amphitheater for some more entertainment. Others went to the lake for a nice relaxing swim or to hang out nearby. A few went back to the cabins for… other reasons. Chiron was walking around to make sure no one, mainly the Strolls, caused any mischief. Dionysus was up on Olympus tonight enjoying some quality time with his immortal wife. Almost all of the other gods and goddesses were busy tonight, especially Aphrodite. Hestia didn't want to think about how exactly Aphrodite was helping others out tonight. She, and many others, much preferred to leave that to the imagination. It was the safer option. Artemis was on the lookout, either to protect girls or recruit girls. These days, it was hard to tell which was which. It was probably both though.

A sudden movement to Hestia's right caused her to stop poking the fire briefly in favor of seeing who had decided to sit next to her of all people.

Never would she have guessed that it would be Percy Jackson.

Percy sat there silently, gazing into the fire in contemplation.

Hestia took this time to stare at him out of the corner of her eye. It wasn't often one saw the infamous son of Poseidon just sitting down. He was almost always on the move, just like his father. This had only become more apparent after the Second Gigantomachy, or to be more precise, after Percy came back from Tartarus. Hestia shuddered at the unwelcome reminder of that fateful occurrence. Even her brothers and sisters had been shocked when Annabeth had told them about how Tartarus had even shown up in person in order to take them out, and all of the events that had followed afterwards. That was something even the gods were never subject to. Unfortunately, the scars from Tartarus and the war were too much and the relationship between Annabeth and Percy was never the same. A short time after the war, they had mutually broken up. They said they were both ok with it, but it didn't seem to be the case. According to Aphrodite, those two were never in the same place again for long after the break up. Of course, that probably had something to do with Athena and Poseidon working together behind the scenes in order to keep the two of them busy enough in order to stop Aphrodite from getting an opportunity to meddle.

A sudden loud crackle from inside the fire broke both of them out of their reverie.

Hestia blushed and looked resolutely into the fire while she moved the wood around as Percy turned to look at her.

"Good evening, Lady Hestia." Percy said respectfully. Or at least as respectfully as he could, which was a lot better than what he did with the other gods and goddesses. A fact that she was somewhat flattered by.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me **Lady** Hestia, Perseus." Hestia said good-naturedly.

"You did, around the same time I told you to call me Percy instead of Perseus." Percy replied back with a wry grin.

"Mhm," Hestia hummed thoughtfully. "I guess I'll change whenever you do then, Perseus."

"You goddesses are so stubborn," Percy said with a shake of his head. The grin didn't leave his face though. "Good evening, Hestia."

"Good evening, Percy," Hestia said with a slight smile. "You're lucky you're talking to me and not another goddess. One could get offended, being called stubborn."

"Is that a fact?" Percy asked in mock confusion. "I'd say that being stubborn is something like a family trait for our kind."

"I suppose that's true," Hestia conceded readily. She really couldn't refute that statement when there were so many examples out there that can prove him right. "It certainly would explain a lot."

"Yeah…" Perseus said softly, turning to look back into the fire solemnly. "I guess that it does."

Both of them sat there in silence. By now, there was no one left in the mess hall but them. Hestia couldn't help but wonder why that was, but she didn't want to ask him. For all she knew, it would make him upset if she asked such a question. So instead, she just sat there silently as she usually did. It was the safest option.

After a few minutes, Percy finally broke the silence.

"Are you ok?" Percy asked, some concern clouding his voice.

"What?" Hestia turned to look at Percy incredulously. Of all things, she wouldn't have expected him to say that. "I'm fine. Why do you ask, Percy?"

"Well…" Percy gestured to the fire. "I might be wrong about this, being the son of the sea god and all… But aren't fires supposed to be, you know, warm?"

Hestia blinked and turned to look at the fire. Sure enough, despite looking like a decent bonfire, the heat it was producing was anything but. She stared at it in incomprehension.

"Hestia?" Percy reached out to poke her, but then thought better of it and pulled back at the last moment. He really didn't want to risk getting burned. Even if water would heal him, the pain would just suck.

"Y-yeah," Hestia stuttered, grimacing slightly before putting some more power into the flames. In an instant, the flames grew hotter. Beside her, Percy let out a sigh on contentment. She turned and saw that he was shivering slightly and started to feel guilty, and a bit letdown. He was cold, so he had come to sit next to the fire for warmth, and then she had taken the heat out of the fire subconsciously. "I'm sorry, Percy."

"It's ok," Percy waved off her concern. "I was just wondering. It felt weird for a fire to not give off any heat."

"You didn't come and sit here because you were cold?" Hestia questioned. She used a bit of her godly powers to sense Percy's intent. While she may not be able to sense truths like Apollo, she could at least feel whether or not someone was being genuine or not to some degree.

"Nah," Percy shrugged carelessly. "It's not that cold out tonight. I just felt like sitting here with you."

Hestia's eyes widened a bit. He was being genuine. In front of them, the fire warmed up a bit more.

Percy leaned a bit closer to the fire, thankful for it getting hotter. "I have to admit though, the fire is a nice bonus. Thank you, Hestia."

"You're welcome," Hestia muttered shyly. It was the first time in her memory that someone had thanked her for tending the fire before. "Are you sure that it's not too hot?" She felt like it was. Or maybe it was just her. It was hard to tell right now.

"It's perfect," Percy assured her. "I mean it."

Hestia nodded in thanks.

"Do you mind if I asked you something?" Percy asked quietly.

"You just did," Hestia said with a chuckle. "But go ahead Percy, ask your question."

"Why did you choose to be a virgin goddess?" Percy asked in a rush. He winced after he asked, as if preparing to be attacked.

Hestia blinked slowly before turning to stare at Percy. It wasn't an angry stare. It wasn't sad one either though. It seemed to be indifferent.

Percy honestly couldn't say whether or not he wished there was some emotion in those eyes or not.

"Why do you ask, Percy?" Hestia asked calmly.

"I guess…" Percy said, trailing off because he was really unsure of why he wanted to know. Was he curious? Or was he just that bored? The most likely option was that something had controlled him and made him ask that. But then again, it didn't feel like it. After thinking quickly, he figured out why he had asked. It had been bugging him for a while. "I was wondering if you are lonely."

"Lonely?" Hestia repeated. The word repeated itself over and over again in her head. Lonely. Was she lonely? Of course not, she had her family. But then, why couldn't she say that out loud to Percy? Was she actually feeling lonely? She had chosen to be a virgin goddess by her own volition ages ago. No one had forced her to become one. Then again, no one had asked her if she was sure if she really wanted to be one either. Everyone had just accepted it right after she had announced it. At the time, she had been thankful. Now though, she was a bit dejected by that fact.

"Yeah," Percy grimaced, realizing again how insensitive he was being. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that."

"It's ok, Percy," Hestia said gently. "You were only curious, right? There's no harm done."

"Are you sure?" Percy asked warily. While he didn't think Hestia would smite him for a dumb question like Athena would, he still had to exercise some caution. Hermes had once told him that it was always the quiet ones who would surprise you. And nobody was quieter than Hestia.

"I'm quite sure," Hestia said firmly. "I am not lonely though. How could I be when I have such a big family?" Despite the truthful answer, her tone lacked any honest enthusiasm. Her eyes even dimmed a bit while saying it.

This time, Percy noticed it along with the drop in the fire's temperature. He glanced between Hestia and the fire before finally connecting the dots. He groaned inwardly, realizing that he was making his favorite goddess sad. He froze for a second, realizing what he had just thought. He was making his **favorite** goddess sad? Since when was Hestia his favorite goddess? Then again, how could she not be? Hestia was without a doubt the kindest and most honest goddess he had ever met. Not to mention patient, that was a miracle considering who her siblings are. He thought fast, trying to see if there was some way he could cheer her up. Nothing was coming to mind though. Looking around, he saw the plate he had brought over. It was full of Valentine's Day themed cookies and chocolates that he had been planning on eating later. The Aphrodite cabin had handed them out to everyone to share with someone of their choice. Now though, he didn't feel very hungry.

Percy glanced over at Hestia. Seeing her gazing back into the fire, he made his decision. With little regret, he threw everything on his plate into the fire. Hestia turned to stare at him quizzically.

"For Hestia." Percy said plainly with a slight shrug as Hestia's eyes widened.

Immediately, Percy felt the fire heat up until it was hotter than before. He had to fight back a grin.

"Percy!" Hestia shouted, slapping his arm in distress. "Why did you do that?"

"What?" Percy rubbed his arm. Despite his training, that slap had hurt a lot. Just goes to show that a goddess, any goddess, cannot be underestimated. Ever. "Do you not like chocolate?" He was screwed if that was the case.

"I do," Hestia said, flushing slightly at the smell emitting from the fire. All day, even though she received a small blessing from every offering the children give to their godly parent, no one had been offering up anything sweet. She couldn't blame them, really. All of them had wanted to save those for their dates or other important people that they saw every day. They still offered decent food still. But still, no one had offered up their Aphrodite cabin chocolate. And here Percy went and gave all that he had gotten to her. Her face, along with the fire, heated up some more. She took a deep breath, trying to rein her emotions in. "I just wasn't expecting you to give them to me."

"Oh?" Percy started to sweat, not because he was worried but because the fire had gotten hotter than he thought it would've. A part of him wondered if there was something in the cookies that the Aphrodite cabin had handed out. "Well, it didn't look like anyone else offered any up today. I figured you'd like the taste. Or the, uh, smell I guess. Is it good?"

"Yes," Hestia said, taking a deep breath. Her eyes started to glow brighter as a smile started to envelop her face. She leaned over to rest her head against Percy's arm. "Thank you, Percy."

"Y-yeah." Percy said, gulping as the goddess leaned against him. It felt like the sun had just touched him. His whole body was on fire. Well, not literally, or he would be dead right now. But the shock to his system was real. His heart sped up and his whole body seemed to heat up. Whether it was because he was touching a goddess or because it was Hestia, he couldn't tell. All he knew was that it wasn't exactly a bad feeling.

Hestia took another deep breath, enjoying the scent of the offering Percy had just given her. The Aphrodite girls knew how to make their sweets. She would need to thank them later. She unknowingly let out a moan as she let the aroma envelop her senses.

Percy started to blush as Hestia moaned. He never would have guessed that she would have reacted like this to his offering. Still though, it was nice seeing her happy for a change. Every other time he had seen her, she was just poking the fire. She didn't say anything to others, and no one said anything to her. So this right now, while a bit weird, was nice; if only a bit uncomfortable to him. Without even thinking about it, he reached over to pet her head.

Hestia's eyes, glowing a bright red, shot open at the new sensation. She turned to look at Percy curiously.

Percy, on the other hand, froze and looked at his hand in incomprehension as though he couldn't believe what it was doing.

After a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity to Percy, Hestia turned back to look at the fire without a comment.

Percy decided to move his hand away; but at feeling the fire start to lose its heat, he hesitatingly moved his hand back to start petting her again. The continuing warmth of the fire ensured that he made the right decision. He sighed inwardly, thankful that he had a sure-fire way (pardon the pun) of checking the goddess's mood. The silence was starting to get to him though, so he decided say something. "You know, this is kind of like having a little sister."

No one ever said that Percy Jackson was a smart one. And no one, most likely, ever would.

The fire flared up minutely, not enough for people in the distance to notice, but enough for the people close by to become wary. Or at least, one person close by. Percy was starting the feel the heat, literally.

"I'm like a little sister, hm?" Hestia spoke up before Percy could take it back.

"W-well sort of," Percy said, backtracking a bit. "I mean, in this form you're in…"

Hestia started to glow, and Percy closed his eyes shut tight. He had seen what had happened when someone was unlucky enough to see a god's or goddess's divine form.

The glow faded immediately and Percy hesitantly opened his eyes. Then he blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing right.

The girl, no, the goddess in front of him was in a form he had never seen before. He was used to her younger form, he saw her all the time at camp. He had seen her adult form on a few occasions, during some serious moments up on Olympus. Now, however, Hestia was somewhere in-between those two ages. If he had to guess, he would say 18 or 19. Her eyes were a molten red, and they were no longer innocent nor mature. She was still wearing a modest dress as she usually did. Except now it was a lot more… form fitting. And red. Really red. Sort of the same color Percy's face was now turning. He turned away as Hestia looked at him in amusement.

"Do you still think that now?" Hestia asked teasingly, becoming a bit more encouraged after seeing Percy blush. She moved a bit closer to start leaning on him again.

"Nope." Percy shook his head. It was definitely impossible now. Damn them for being able to change their looks and appearances to whatever they wanted. Well, he should've known better. After all, he had heard that Zeus had once turned into a bull to get Demeter and… He was never going to think of that again. Ever. On the plus side, that disturbing image had officially cooled him down. He sighed was about to say something before Hestia leaned against him again. Just like before, his whole body heated up. This time, he was sure that he would explode.

"Thank you." Hestia said out of nowhere, giving Percy a hug.

"What?" Percy asked dumbly. Really, there was no other way he could respond.

"For sitting next to me," Hestia explained. "And for giving me your chocolate. It's been a while since anyone has done that for me."

"How long is a while?" Percy asked curiously, not liking the solemn tone Hestia had used when she had said that.

"A couple of centuries, I think." Hestia said after thinking about it for a moment.

"Oh," Percy's throat tightened as the fire cooled down a bit. That explained a bit. It really sucked too. Even after everything that had happened, from before he was born until now. Through both the Second Titanomachy and the Second Gigantomachy, nothing had really changed for Hestia when it came to being appreciated. Not truly. "It was nothing."

"You're far too modest, Percy," Hestia said exasperatedly. "Then again, that's one of your redeeming qualities."

"I guess." Percy shrugged noncommittally. That was a small comfort in his life. Better to be modest than a dick like Heracles.

"Speaking of your good qualities, why are you here?" Hestia asked. It was starting to bother her, not knowing why Percy was here instead of being out somewhere with some lucky girl.

"I told you I wanted to sit with you," Percy said in confusion. "Didn't I?"

"I know that…" Hestia said, flushing slightly at his earnest response. "But is that really all?"

"Yeah, that's really all there is to it," Percy said. Seeing Hestia's disbelieving stare, he decided to elaborate. "It's not like there's anyone in my life right now. All of my friends are with people, so I don't want to be a third wheel. My mom is out with Paul. Dad is, well, dad. So yeah… Here I am."

"So you're here because you have nowhere else to be?" Hestia asked, trying to see where Percy was coming from.

"Not quite," Percy scratched his head, unsure if he should say what he was about to say. But since Hestia seemed to be pushing it, he decided to just go ahead and say it. "I could have just went back to my place and slept. I'm here because I saw you and I thought… She shouldn't be alone today."

The fire in front of them flickered fiercely. Neither of them noticed this change though.

"Every time I came to camp, you were here," Percy said, continuing now that he had started it. "You would always sit here, and tend the fire, and no one noticed or talked to you. I noticed, but I never said anything, even after I found out who you really were. I thought you were ok with it, but lately, I don't think that you are. You're just used to it."

Hestia stared at Percy in incomprehension.

"So I thought, maybe tonight I should change that," Percy said, blushing at how mushy that had sounded. Aphrodite would've been proud. "I mean, if you want. After all, it's your choice."

"It's my choice?" Hestia echoed blankly.

"Yeah," Percy nodded, suddenly feeling calm. It was simple. That was what it really boiled down to. It was her choice. He took a deep breath. It was now or never. "So if it's cool with you, would you be my Valentine?"

Hestia turned to look back at the fire. She wasn't sure what to say. On the plus side, he was definitely more gentlemanly than his father and Apollo when they had tried to woo her. At least he hadn't shot straight to asking her to marry him. Still though, after all this time… Could she really date? She didn't know.

"It's fine if you don't want to," Percy said, scratching his head nervously. "I just thought that…" He trailed off. He wasn't sure what he had thought. It had felt right though.

There was still no response from Hestia. But after a moment, the fire grew hotter than before. It warmed him right down to his bones, yet it didn't burn or hurt at all.

Percy looked over at Hestia and could see small, content smile on her face as she gazed into the fire. He turned to look at the fire and smiled too. That was enough of an answer for him.

* * *

 **EXTRA**

Deep in the pits of Tartarus, there was a cage that was built to house Kronos after he reformed. It was specially made in order to contain his powers and to ensure that he wouldn't be able to influence anyone ever again. It was meant to be hidden away so that nobody and nothing would be able to find it.

Percy made a point to go and find it.

From within the cage, Kronos snarled at the sight of Percy Jackson. From what he could tell, it had been a decade since he had been defeated. He had reformed quickly thanks to Gaea, yet the resourcefulness of the gods led him to being sealed and stuck in Tartarus. And now the demi-god that had led to his destruction was here now? Things just kept getting worse for the titan of time.

"Hey gramps," Percy waved cheerfully, heedless to Kronos's inner turmoil. "How's it hanging? Oh, uh, not good I guess."

"When I escape from here, you will be the first person I kill." Kronos vowed.

"Yeah, ok, I'll remember that," Percy nodded. That was to be expected. "Anyway, I'm kind of here to get something from you."

"You need something from me?" Kronos's eyes widened marginally. This could be a chance for him. "And what does the mighty Perseus Jackson need from this old titan?"

"I need your permission." Percy said, ignoring the use of his full name.

"You need my what?" Kronos blinked. He must have misheard the demi-god. He had been in Tartarus for a very long time, maybe it was started to affect his hearing.

"Your permission," Percy repeated. "To marry your daughter."

"My who?" Kronos was sure that there must be something wrong with his hearing.

"Your daughter," Percy repeated, wondering if Kronos had a hearing problem or something. He hoped he hadn't caused it. "Hestia."

"Wait," Kronos held up his hand. This was far too much. "You, my grandson… Want my, your grandfather's permission to marry my daughter… Who is your aunt. Is that right?"

Percy did some quick family math in his head before nodding. "Yeah, I think so."

"Our family is so fucked up…" Kronos shook his head. "Sure. Go for it."

"Thanks!" Percy said. He turned and started to run off before pausing briefly. "Don't worry, we'll send you a wedding invite."

With that, he left; leaving Kronos alone to start a new plan to get revenge against Percy. He already had some inspiration for what he would do to ruin it based off of a movie he had seen while possessing Luke's body. A movie called _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_.

* * *

 **A/N: So there it is. I adore Hestia, and just had to make this. I hope you like it. It's not the standard pairing, but eh, I prefer it that way.**

 **This is just a one-shot unless I get inspired to do more for it. But as of now, I really don't have any plans to do so.**

 **Please let me know what you think of this. I'm sure I could have done it better, so some feedback would be nice for my next attempt in this section.**

 **I hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day!**

 **Again, reminder, please feel free to follow "stygianhazardff" on tumblr for updates/thoughts about my fan-fiction stuff.**


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